


Of Jealousy and Unrequited Love

by aixds



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Boys Being Boys, Dancing, Fluff and Angst, Heartbreak, Hurt, Implied Relationships, Jealousy, Kissing, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Little Shit, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Post-Relationship, Soft Boys, Tsukishima Kei is a Little Shit, Unrequited Love, but thats fine, but they fail, fake relationship (kind of), kenma is blunt as hell, lazy ending, pain but only mild, please help, tadashi is socially anxious, they also try to dance, tsukishima and kuroo are kind of dicks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27448180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aixds/pseuds/aixds
Summary: Jealousy is a violent thing. It's painful; ugly.But, really, sometimes jealousy blooms in the right places.Tadashi and Kenma would know, surely.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 82





	Of Jealousy and Unrequited Love

**Author's Note:**

> i'm bad at summaries lmao just take it
> 
> i am so soft for yamaken you don't even know
> 
> *edit: stuff that wasn't mentioned directly in the story; yamaguchi and kenma are friends in this fic, and have been friends for about a month. tsukki and kuroo are dating. this takes place at a party, where kenma suggests that he and yamaguchi dance to make their previous love interests jealous.  
> (I realized that most of the plot was kind of left out, so i apologize, but i hope this makes sense :))

"You're doing it wrong."

A whine of embarrassment escaped his throat, his face burning a soft pink. 

"Calm down. You're too tense." 

There were hands sliding down his body, slowly, carefully. Small palms rested on his hips, keeping him in place. 

"Tadashi."

"Oh—" He opened his mouth to apologize for the uptenth time that night, only to be interrupted. 

"Calm down."

"Okay."

"Put your arms on my hips."

"Okay."

"Good?"

"Good."

Tadashi let out a breath, one he hadn't even realized he had been holding. His fingers were trembling lightly, his own hands wandering to finally find themselves carefully holding someone else's hips.

The tension in his shoulders eased gradually, as well as the hesitant grip he had on the other boy. His thoughts were spiraling, causing him to overthink every one of his movements. Was he holding on too tight? Was he too close? Were people judging them? Was—

Tadashi felt his shoulders jump when small hands suddenly slid back up his body, resting against his shoulders and holding him in place. The touch was warm; comforting. He hadn't realized just how gentle this boy was. Tadashi always deemed him to be someone unapproachable, but here he was, steadying Tadashi in a way that not even his best friend could do.

"Kenma—" Tadashi started, but ended up slipping on his words and biting his tongue. Whatever he had originally planned to say had slipped from his mind, leaving him speechless. But of course, the world seemed to need to throw Tadashi into a fire of embarrassment, because a person managed to shove past him _and knock him directly into Kenma's arms._

Kenma reacted quickly—of course he did, he was _Kenma_ —and instinctively pressed himself closer to Tadashi to break the force of the fall that _should_ have come. Tadashi felt his heart skip a beat, maybe two. The warm palms pressed harder into his shoulders, but not in an uncomfortable way. Fingers curled over his shoulder blades, and Tadashi had to remember that Kenma was a _friend_ and they were doing this as _karma_. None of this was to be taken literally.

"Are you okay?" Kenma had the nerve to ask quietly, still holding Tadashi close enough that he was able to make out the small, golden flecks that settled deep within Kenma's eyes. _God,_ Kenma was actually _really_ pretty. _Damnit._

Tadashi felt his throat tighten, and he had to exhale deeply in order to find enough oxygen to keep himself steady. Where was Tsukishima? Tadashi kind of wanted to leave—he wanted to go home and hide in his room, wrapped in a bundle of blankets on his bed. He was tired of being here, surrounded by people he didn't know, trying to get back at his _own best friend_ just because he was _jealous—_

"Hey?" Kenma spoke again, bringing Tadashi back down to harsh reality. This reality wasn't much different from the one in his head, though. The only difference is that Tadashi is still _here_ , still _trying_ to dance with his best friend's boyfriend's best friend. He slowly blinked, his breathing still ragged and quick. 

"Sorry. Um. I'm fine." Tadashi nodded, tilting his head away from Kenma's calculating gaze. It almost felt like he was being observed by a cat ready to strike its prey. In a way, he may as well have been. Kenma was perceptive—a trait that Tadashi both admired and feared. 

"Look at me." Kenma demanded softly, his arms now sliding around Tadashi's neck. The action itself was more unnerving than the tone of Kenma's voice, really. 

Tadashi complied, turning back to make eye contact with the shorter boy. Kenma was watching him, his brows now furrowed slightly. Tadashi tightened his grip on Kenma's hips, suddenly remembering just how close they were. He felt like they were surrounded by a strong aura, locked inside of their own bubble—away from the prying eyes of strangers. 

There were fingers curling around the back of Tadashi's neck, but he already knew who they belonged to. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the mesmerizing way Kenma was watching him. 

The silence was thick between them, almost suffocating. Tadashi wanted to say something, anything. He could feel an unknown tension rising between them, but wasn't sure if that was purely one-sided or not.

_Oh._

Apparently Tadashi didn't need to ponder about that any longer, because Kenma's face was now getting closer. _Too close,_ Tadashi panicked, but his arms apparently decided to move on their own. He ended up tugging Kenma closer, _too close_ , and their lips met unexpectedly. Tadashi felt his blood run cold, but not because of the accidental kiss. No, he was all-too aware of their audience. They were two guys, and they just _kissed_. In _public_.

Kenma seemed to yank his head backwards quickly, breaking the contact almost as soon as it happened. Tadashi caught a blur of Kenma's widened eyes, and he wondered if he had messed up. _Stupid_. 

Kenma seemed to regain his composure easily, and the stone-cold look was back on his face. Tadashi couldn't tell if there was a soft layer of blush on his face due to the lighting, which he was almost happy about. 

"They were watching." Kenma muttered, and for the first time that night, his eyes shifted to the floor instead of watching Tadashi. That was just an easy sign that he had definitely messed up. 

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to. I'm sorry, I'm sorry—" Tadashi spoke the apologies so quickly that his breath ran out, forcing him to let in a deep inhale before he could speak again. "I'm—"

Kenma knocked his forehead into Tadashi's chest, leaving Tadashi to forget whatever it was he was going to say. _That's the second time tonight._ "Shut up." He felt more than heard Kenma grumble against his chest. His body felt like it was on fire, but Tadashi couldn't tell _why_. Was it the kiss? Exhaustion? Anxiety? 

"Wait. Who was watching?" Tadashi inquired dumbly, but his brain was filled with too much fog to process who Kenma was talking about.

"Kuro." Kenma replied shortly. "And Kei." He added, but his words hardened on Tsukishima's name. 

"O—Oh." 

"Yeah."

Kenma lifted his head, staring up at Tadashi. He looked serious; his lips pressed together while his eyes narrowed marginally. 

"Let's do that again." Kenma blurted—so bluntly that it hurt.

Tadashi definitely doesn't take bluntness very well, which resulted in yet another embarrassing string of words. "W—Huh? What?" 

"Kiss. Does that bother you?" Kenma almost sounded hurt, but of course it was mainly masked by his familiar monotony. 

"N—No, it's just—um. I know that we're trying to get back at _them_ , but there's so many people around." Tadashi rambled, his words starting to morph together incoherently. "Idon'twanttomakeanyoneuncomfortable—"

Kenma straightened his back and unlatched one of his arms from around Tadashi's neck, using his now-free hand to tilt Tadashi's face downwards gently. He looked apologetic, or maybe he was trying to be comforting. It was hard to tell. "Tadashi, seriously. Shut. Up."

Of course Tadashi's instinct was to apologize, but he could barely open his mouth before Kenma was kissing him. _Again_. And it was even better than the accidental one.

Kenma moved like he spoke—slyly, slow but not _too_ slow, and sharply. Tadashi knew his heart was beating as fast as one of a startled rabbit, but frankly, he couldn't find himself to mind all that much. It was easy to focus on the gentle press of Kenma's lips against his own, their hands wandering to wherever felt right. 

Tadashi wondered if this was enough; if they should pull away now. Surely their friends had spotted them, so couldn't they stop? He didn't want to, not really—but his conscience kept reminding him that they were in public. Technically, this was public indecency. (No, it wasn't.) Tadashi was just overthinking.

Kenma was, shockingly, still very perceptive. Even when kissing, he could tell the moment when Tadashi had frozen up. He pulled away—maybe three centimeters—and let his warm breath fan out across Tadashi's lower lip. "Please calm down." Kenma whispered, pressing a quick kiss to Tadashi's chin. "Nobody cares what we're doing. Half the guys in this room are fucking each other anyway."

 _"Kenma—!_ "

"Calm down. Okay? They're still watching." Kenma finished, ignoring Tadashi's cry of embarrassment. Sometimes Tadashi wished he knew where Kenma stored his words, because whenever he let them out, they would just _flow_. He wouldn't even _stutter._

Kenma locked their lips together again, still being gentle. Kenma's eyelashes fanned over his cheeks after he'd closed his eyes, and Tadashi decided to close his as well. He had never kissed someone for this long—he'd only experienced those short, quick, meaningless ones. _Like what I'd get from Tsukki,_ he supplied his conscience.

After a moment of hesitation, Tadashi felt bold enough to actually return the kiss. He moved his hands up to softly grip Kenma's arms, holding him in place. Kenma made a little sound, something between a sigh and a whine. Tadashi felt his heart soar at the sound, his blood pumping loudly in his ears.

Kenma had removed both of his arms from Tadashi's neck at this point. Instead, his thin fingers had wrapped around the collar of Tadashi's gray sweater.

Maybe they were getting a little too heated. Maybe this was crossing the line of platonic. Maybe Tadashi didn't _ever_ want to stop kissing Kenma. Maybe Kenma felt the same way. Maybe, maybe, maybe—

Kenma bit Tadashi's bottom lip, eliciting a cry of surprise as well as pain. Tadashi pulled away with a small noise, his eyes unfocused when he opened them again. Kenma was watching him, looking hungry. Tadashi's heart skipped a few beats. 

"How long will it take before you stop thinking." Kenma grunted, sounding genuinely annoyed at this point. Tadashi frowned, blinking away the previous haze that had almost clouded his mind. 

"We're in public, it's not easy—"

"Do you want to go somewhere private?"

" _What?_ That defeats the whole purpose—"

"I don't care." Kenma sighed, his pupils noticeably dilated. "I know you don't either. So lets go somewhere private." He still doesn't even _stutter_.

Tadashi let out a breath. The back of his neck—as well as his face—felt hot. He didn't want to think about the implications of being somewhere _private_ with _Kenma_. Especially now that Tadashi found himself craving Kenma's touches and kisses more than anything. 

"Fine, lets just—"

"Nope. No. You two aren't going anywhere." _Kuroo_.

Tadashi tried not to let his disappointment show on his face when Kenma pulled his body away. He was staring at the ground, his lips twisted into a grimace. Tadashi's gaze flickered to where Kuroo and Tsukishima now stood, just a few feet away. 

"Tadashi. We have to go." Tsukishima spoke coldly, and Tadashi did _not_ like that tone of voice. It made his guts feel all stiff and queasy. He really didn't want Tsukishima to get mad at him, but maybe he deserved it. Tadashi had been kissing another guy, after all. 

_Not like we were ever actually a thing anyway._

"Why?" Tadashi squeaked, but then frowned. He hated how vulnerable he sounded, especially in front of Kenma.

"Akiteru wants to meet with us for dinner." Tsukishima spoke the words through clenched teeth, and Tadashi knew he was lying. But he didn't fight it—there was no use.

Kenma had moved further away from Tadashi, and he now stood next to Kuroo. Seeing them stand together made Tadashi's stomach flip, but that was probably just because he was reminded of the things Kenma would tell him. Kuroo was obliviously hurtful—basically like Tsukishima was, in a sense—and of course it had an affect on Kenma. 

Tadashi looked away, feeling bitter. If he had the choice, he would leave with Kenma. He didn't want to be around Tsukishima. Tadashi didn't even have to ask about what his best friend had been doing all night. Kuroo had never left his side, which was enough evidence for Tadashi's assumption. 

"Bye, Kuroo." Tsukishima bid his farewells, but Tadashi had already shuffled past him. 

"Wait. Tadashi." The sound of Kenma's voice made him pause, and he glanced over his shoulder, not bothering to turn around.

Kenma broke away from Kuroo's side and had made his way to Tadashi in the blink of an eye. And, without warning, Kenma had leaned forward and pressed a meaningful kiss to Tadashi's cheek. 

"Goodnight, Tadashi." Kenma muttered, but couldn't make eye contact this time. Tadashi smiled, feeling his heart both swell and break at the same time. The thought of being forced away from someone he felt comfortable with was painful. And the person pulling him away was the person he was trying to get over, of course.

Tadashi didn't respond, and Tsukishima didn't say a word. Kuroo had started whispering to Kenma as soon as he was close enough, but Kenma didn't seem to be listening. 

Later, as Tsukishima drove him home in a silent car, Tadashi could still feel the lingering warmth of Kenma's final kiss.

Hm. _Now, maybe moving on wouldn't be that hard. ___

**Author's Note:**

> thank uuu for reading <3  
> it's kind of a messy story without much of a plot, butttt i think i made it make sense.  
> i really just wanted to write some yamaken. . .


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